RAF bomb leads to Frankfurt evacuation

MORE than 60,000 people are to be evacuated from their homes in Frankfurt after an unexploded British 193945 War “blockbuster” bomb was found during construction work.

The 1,400kg device – code-named “Cookie” by the RAF – was dropped on the German city by a wartime bomber sometime after 1941. City authorities plan the evacuation of residents in one of the biggest operations of its kind on Sunday so the device can be defused.

Markus Frank, a city councillor, said the bomb contains 1.4 tons of explosives. German media said the device has been nicknamed “Wohn-block-knacker”, which means apartment blockbuster, for its ability to wipe out whole streets.

The street where the ordnance was found is close to the city centre and just 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) north of the main Zeil shopping area. People living in a radius of nearly a mile around the site will leave their homes as a precaution ahead of the disposal, which is expected to take around four hours.

“Due to the large size of the bomb, extensive evacuation measures must be taken,” police said in a statement. The force said there is “currently no danger”.

Officials describe the evacuation as Germany’s biggest yet, although similar operations are still common more than 70 years after the war ended.

One of the biggest took place last Christmas, when another unexploded British bomb forced 54,000 people out of their homes in the city of Augsburg.